BACKWARD GLANCES - Man holds sledgehammer party, then runs

Thursday

Feb 21, 2013 at 12:01 AM

See what was happening in Redwood Falls 50, 25, and 10 years ago this week.

Joshua Dixon, Staff Writer

1963—50 years ago• A study by the school district showed Redwood County had 109 sets of twins, a two percent higher average than the national.• The Redwood Falls airport got its first female flight specialist when Naemi Bergstrom asked the FFA if she could be transfered here from Milwaukee because she had relatives in the area.• In other airport news, flight specialist A.D. Gardner, working the night shift, saw two exploding flares — one red, one green — detonate in the sky north of Redwood Falls. Redwood and Renville County law enforcement investigated, but were unable to find a cause.• Sgt. Leeun Werner, supply sergeant at the Redwood Falls National Guard Armory, spent a week in Kodiak, Alaska, learning winter combat and survival skills. His first morning there the temperature was 26 degrees below zero, which dropped to 49 below in following days.• Richard Cook, Redwood County Highway Engineer from 1931-59 (with time off to fight in World War II and Korea) was elected to life membership in the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers.

1988—25 years ago• After several restaurants wanted to set up food stands on residential property across from the high school, the city set up an experimental licensing program for them.The program fell apart after not one business could meet the city’s requirements to sell food across from the school.• The Redwood Falls-Morton High School gymnastics team won its 10th straight Section 3 title.• The RFHS class of 1943 wasn’t stupid. They planned their 40th reunion for Doheny Beach, California, while a blizzard was going on in their hometown.• The city-owned liquor store posted a $9,177 loss for 1987, but that was in part due to an expensive remodeling project. City officials were confident the store would show a profit in 1988.• Jolene Bunting won the Peoples’ Choice Award in the Pretty Pig contest for her entry, which featured a baby pig in a Wheaties “Breakfast of Champions” themed display.

2003—10 years ago• Shannon Hansen drove 14 hours straight to get to Fort Carson, Colorado to marry her fiance, Cpl. Bon Hill-Simmons. The couple planned on getting married later in the summer, but news of Hill-Simmons’ unexpected deployment inspired him to move the date up to approximately immediately.After a 10 minute ceremony in a motor maintenance facility, they had the next 40 hours free for a honeymoon.• The Redwood Area Hospital collected over 250 mercury thermometers from the public in a month, replacing them with free non-mercury thermometers.• After a cancer patient got cold during treatment at the Redwood Area Hospital, volunteer quilters brought in over 50 quilts for patients to use.• The public library created a special space, “Teen Territory”, for young people to just come and hang out.• The city condemned a house in town after the owner had what neighbors referred to as “a sledgehammer party” in it, then drove away, never to be seen again.